Bottle Brush losing leaves

Posts

• Liriodendron Posts: 8,328

  February 2023

  Hi @meme.mason.  I don't grow Callistemon myself but further west in Ireland there are quite a few of them, often planted by landscapers in new housing estates.  They don't always survive the winter.  The one in my daughter's front garden looks to have suffered from the cold this winter (she's had minus 4 a couple of times) so you've done the right thing to try to protect your tree from severe cold.
  
  I think yours may be suffering from lack of light.  The new leaves look very pale and "drawn"; can you put it in a window?  Otherwise, I don't think it looks too bad.  As soon as the weather warms up a bit you could move it outside where it'll be happier - but you may need to bring it in at night if it's going to be cold.  And I think it would be happier in a bigger pot, if you could manage that in the spring.
  
  I expect someone with experience of growing this plant will be along soon with more advice.  

  Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.

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• GardenerSuze Posts: 5,692

  February 2023

  My first thought was lack of light too. Sadly it won't survive herebut in the south it may be just about hardy? 

  I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.

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• philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742

  February 2023

  I do see a couple of well established ones in gardens ( SW UK ) and I have actually had 1 myself in a previous garden in a similar area so they are hardy to a degree.  This really freezing weather we've had recently has certainly finished off many plants which border on tender tho.
  You don't say where you are located but as a general rule, most trees do not thrive in an indoor environment.  As above, a lack of light together with a dry atmosphere could explain the problem.and getting it outside as soon as the weather is more clement will certainly help. I agree with @Liriodendron re the pot size - does look a wee bit small for the size of the tree.
  Best of luck 

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• bertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697

  February 2023

  Our Callistemon is outside and planted in the ground. We are in the SW. The heavy frosts that we had for some weeks in January it has coped. Agree with @philippasmith2
  

  most trees/shrubs don't thrive indoors but then maybe this is the only place you can have plants.
  

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• meme.mason Posts: 5

  February 2023

  Thank you all, I have moved him next to our patio doors, our garden is south west so he should get plenty of light there. I’m in Derbyshire so our frost hadn’t been as bad as some yrs but I didn’t want to take the chance leaving him outdoors over winter (i don’t have a greenhouse) I have lost both my bottle brushes that were planted in the garden. I will keep him inside for a little longer to make sure those late frosts don’t catch me out then get him back in the garden. I will get him into a bigger pot in spring as he has grown loads in his first year, that planter use to be so big!! 

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• Butterfly66 Posts: 970

  February 2023

  We have a Callistemon in our garden and he seems to survive everything just fine. I’m pretty sure he was already planted when we had the beast from the east, but has certainly survived heavy frosts since then. He was quite small when planted (a GC reduced sad plant rescue) and is now about 5 foot tall.
  
  We are in Birmingham so there may be a slight city effect on temperatures but our garden is top of an east facing hill with no facing houses so not particularly sheltered.

   If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
  East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham

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